


Seldom All They Seem

by bemusedlybespectacled (ardentintoxication)



Category: Maleficent (2014)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Ladyhawke Fusion, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fantasy, Humor, I can't even believe that's a tag, Roman Catholicism, Shapeshifting, like arrows and swords and stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2015-01-28
Packaged: 2018-02-11 06:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2058186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentintoxication/pseuds/bemusedlybespectacled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By day, Diaval is a raven. By night, Maleficent is a wildcat. Cursed to be always together but eternally apart, their survival rests on one wise-cracking lady thief and a drunken priest.</p><p>Yes, it's a Ladyhawke AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lady_Gadfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Gadfly/gifts).



> [The prompt](http://bemusedlybespectacled.tumblr.com/post/93321163896/ladygadfly-no-but-guys-ladyhawke-maleval-au) is from ladygadfly, so all credit for the idea goes to her.

Not many people had seen the inside of Aquila’s dungeons and lived, but not many people were Aurora Fitzroy, either. True, she actually wasn’t out of the dungeons yet, but neither was she dead, which was a vast improvement over her cellmates. At the moment, she was in the sewers, hair and white shift soaked with filth and water, but she meant to change that at the first opportunity.

“Lord,” she said, looking pointedly upwards, “if You get me out of here, help me find some way out, then I’ll never, ever pick a pocket again. I mean, if You don’t get me out, then I can’t say I wouldn’t mind, but I won’t hold it against You. Much.”

Deep within the sewer's depths, she heard distant shouts over the soft lapping of sewer water.

“See, Lord? We could be great friends if You keep giving me openings like this.”

* * *

 Above ground, Captain Marquet had been granted an audience with the Bishop of Aquila.

“It’s my fault, your grace,” he was saying, sweating profusely.

“Yes, it is.”

“I don’t know if we need to worry so much, your grace,” he said. “She’s just a girl, a petty thief-”

“-who’s escaped our inescapable dungeons,” said the bishop. “I think you can see why I think she might be of a higher priority than that.”

“It’ll be a miracle if she even escapes the sewers, your grace.”

“I deal in miracles, Captain Marquet,” said the bishop. “And word that she has escaped must not get out. If the people do not fear our dungeons, then they have no need to fear the guards. I think I need not elaborate.”

“No, your grace,” said Marquet.

“Find her,” said the bishop. “Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter. But bring back her head, either way.”

* * *

Outside the castle, Aurora floated along the edge of the moat. A mounted troop of guards rode past, so close she could have touched them. They halted at the the drawbridge, their horses stamping the ground impatiently.

“I have been given direct orders from the bishop himself!” said the captain. “The one who finds this thief, Aurora Fitzroy, also known as The Mouse, will be personally brought to the bishop’s attention. If you lose her, you’ll be hanged alongside her. Martineau’s squad, you ride to the west. The rest of you, with me!”

As they rode past, one dropped his very full purse, and Aurora waited a full minute before hoisting herself up out of the water and onto the road, scooping up the purse as she went.

“Now, I know I said I wouldn’t pick another pocket, Lord,” she muttered, “but technically I stole nothing. I just picked up a purse that was ripe for the taking, right on the open road. Really, I should be commended for my industry and quick thinking in the face of danger. In fact, I should be thanking You for dropping this windfall into my lap. Thank you for my ill-gotten-but-not-stolen gains, Lord…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My fancast for Captain Marquet is [John Macmillan, the captain in Maleficent.](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3025293/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t30)


	2. The Woman

Walking though the countryside, in winter, in nothing but a shift, was beginning to take its toll on Aurora. Snow and stones cut into her bare feet, her damp clothes were freezing and smelled awful, and she was hungry.

"Normally this is where I'd talk about the food my dear old aunties used to make," she said to herself, "but I am having trouble thinking of anything they made that was actually edible. Though at least I would _have_ food if they were here. Oh, Lord, if You are making me actually nostalgic for Aunt Leticia's scones as some sort of punishment for taking that purse, I commend Your creativity. And Your ruthlessness."

Cheerfully ignoring any attempts at divine retribution, she stole a new shift, a dress, and a pair of shoes off a wash line before heading to the next town as fast as her newly-shod feet could carry her. At a crowded inn, she bought herself a drink. "And none of the cheap stuff," she told the innkeeper. "I'm good for it." She flashed her purse at him, smiling.

"And where did an urchin like you pick up such a fine purse?" said a hooded man sitting in the back.

"Its owner didn't want it anymore," she said. "Left out on the road for anyone to pick up."

"I happen to be missing a purse myself," said the man.

"Then you can wait until I lose it on the road," said Aurora. "Besides, I think I deserve it more than you."

"And what could you have done to deserve it more than I?"

"I've seen the inside of the dungeons of Aquila and lived," said Aurora. "Can you say the same?"

"I can," said the man. "But you can't."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"No," he said, and he threw off his cloak. At that, ten other hooded men did the same. They were all wearing the uniforms of the bishop's guard. "I'm calling you a dead woman."

That was her cue to leave. Aurora rolled under the nearest table, heading for the door. Two men rose to block it, so she crawled out from under it, leapt onto it, and jumped towards the rafters. Cursing the heaviness of her skirts, she clambered from roof beam to roof beam as the soldiers, none of them fast enough to catch her or climb up after her, tried to stick her with the points of their swords. One well-timed spear tangled in her skirts and pulled, sending her crashing heavily to the ground, stunned.

The guards surrounded her and hauled her to her feet.

"I expected your to give me a better chase," said Captain Marquet triumphantly.

"Eleven men versus little old me, I think we can agree the odds were stacked in your favor," she spat.

"Maybe," he said. "But it comes to the same in the end." He nodded to a lieutenant. "Kill her."

"May God have mercy-"

The inn's door flew open with a loud bang.

A woman stood in the doorway. From the way all the men turned to stare at her, Aurora thought perhaps they were intrigued by her beauty. Long, dark hair, high cheekbones, hardwood staff, crossbow-

Ah. That would be plenty arresting.

The woman regarded her coldly. "You," she said. "Out."

Aurora did as she was bid, moving out of the suddenly slack hold of the bishop's guard. No one moved to stop her. Still a bit stunned by the fall from the ceiling (not to mention the sudden arrival of the mystery woman) she walked toward the door. The woman shoved the crossbow into her hands. Surely she needed it? Aurora decided not to ask, preferring to make good her escape, dropping the bow on the ground as she ran.

"Maleficent," said Marquet once she'd left. "You know, one of my men told me that you'd been seen in these parts, but I thought, no, surely not. Surely she wouldn't be that eager to enjoy our company again."

Silence.

"And armed with nothing but a staff. You must be stupid as well as suicidal."

She smiled, a cool and deadly smile. Then she attacked. Her first blow took Marquet by surprise, catching him across the face so hard he stumbled. Her second blow swept under his legs, knocking him backwards. His cloak fell into the open fireplace.

"Fire!" he yelled.

Three of his men rushed to stamp on his cloak to put it out, while the rest rushed at her, swords drawn. She struck again, tripping two as they ran, their heavy armor bringing them down hard. A third took a swing to the throat, while a fourth crossed his sword with her staff. Her grip on her staff twisted and she smacked his arm away, forcing him to drop his sword from suddenly numb fingers. Another smack to his temple knocked him unconscious. The final two standing regarded her warily before both attacking at once. She ducked their sword blows and tipped her staff up, striking one perfectly between the legs before aiming her next blow under the other's chin. Hastily unbuckling the unconscious man's belt, she left with his sword in one hand and her staff in the other, galloping away on her waiting horse.

"After her!" cried Marquet. "Take her!"

Aurora, for her part, was also trying to gallop away, though she was having more trouble with it. Horse theft was not her style, and while she could ride a horse passably well, none of them would let her mount.

"Hussies and strumpets of horses, all of you!" she said. Giving up, she ran for the forest on her own two legs. She did not get very far before the sound of hoofbeats started to follow her. The mystery woman. Headed straight for her. Wonderful.

A terrible thought occurred to her. "Oh, no, oh nonono-"

Too late. A tug on the back of her dress and she was pulled over the pommel, riding with her into the forest.


	3. The Cat

They rode into the forest in silence. After a while, the woman had tersely introduced herself as Maleficent and allowed Aurora to shift positions so she could sit behind her. Aurora tactfully did not ask why the bishop's guards were after her, or why she had a pet raven sitting on her outstretched arm, or why she had picked her up in the first place. Not that she thought Maleficent would tell her even if she did ask, but she preferred to call herself tactful, and so instead she sent silent prayers to God that varied between thanking him for sparing her life and asking him if it would have been _such_ a bother to at least let her finish her drink first.

Eventually, Aurora noticed smoke ahead. "Look, civilization!"

No reply.

"Are you sure you don't want to ride on? There'll still be daylight for hours yet."

"We stop here."

"Fine, fine."

It seemed they had come across some humble charcoal burners, though of the charcoal burners Aurora had met, they did not seem to the brightest of the bunch. The wife did not speak at all, except in high-pitched squealing noises.

"Good afternoon," said Maleficent. "My companion and I need lodging for tonight."

They shook their heads. "No room, no room," said the husband, who was as thin as his wife was fat and only slightly more talkative.

"We'll pay for it, of course," said Maleficent.

Aurora flashed her purse at them. It was so nice to have the money to flash in the first place. "We're not skin-thrifts," she said, "or liars."

The wife perked up at that, poking her husband sharply in the back and squeaking.

"Very well," he growled. "You can sleep in the barn."

"Thank you," said Maleficent, and steered her horse towards it.

The barn was divided in two, seemingly for storage. Maleficent claimed the far room, Aurora took the other. Once in private, Maleficent sorted her gear. Her staff was clean and in no need of repair; the sword was sharp and well-balanced, though she had no intention of using it except in emergencies. In her saddlebags was a change of clean clothes, and there at the bottom was a pair of breeches, not her size, and a billowing black shirt. She stroked the cloth reverently.

"Um, if there's nothing else-" Aurora's voice pulled her from her reverie.

"You can care for my horse," she said. "And then afterwards you can sleep. But sleep with one eye open, and don't disturb me in the night. For any reason."

"And what if we're attacked in the night by rogues and brigands?"

"Then I'll kill them," said Maleficent. "But you're still not to disturb me. I'm the sort that doesn't take kindly to surprises, and I'll strike without looking."

"Understood," said Aurora. "And who's the name of this fine fellow?"

" _Her_ name," she said, "is Atalanta."

"I see," said Aurora. "Come on, then, old girl. If you're good, I might find you some apples."

* * *

Dusk. Aurora had fed and watered Atalanta (reminding her of her namesake's weakness for apples the whole while) and was now gathering firewood.

"See where You've gotten me, Lord?" she said. "But a day ago I was in the dungeons of Aquila, with a murderess and a heretical witch for company, and now I'm here, in the woods, gathering wood for some stranger who might very well be both. Not to question Your judgement, Lord, but I really have to wonder if it was wise of You to send me to a murderous witch. I'm in the prime of my life now. I have prospects. I could be a respectable lady someday, even. But not if I get killed first. Just as a reminder, Lord-"

Growling. That was definitely a growling noise behind her.

Aurora threw the firewood she was carrying as far as she could and then ran in the opposite direction, directly for the barn. Even as she scrambled to make it to the barn before whatever-it-was bit her, the charcoal burner came out, waving his axe.

"Oh, excellent, you heard it, too!" she said. Almost too late she realized he was swinging his axe in her direction, and she dove out of the way. "What the-"

A huge black cat leapt out from the shadows, sinking its teeth into the charcoal burner's neck. Aurora screamed and ran for the barn.

"Maleficent! _Maleficent!_ " She wasn't there, though her gear was all still in place. Trust her to take an evening walk at a time like this! "Right. Giant cat. _Giant_ cat." She scrambled for the crossbow, struggling to load it quickly. "I didn't even know cats could grow that big. Of course they can. They were probably put on this earth solely to test me." The bolt was in place, now she just had to aim and point. " _Giant cat_ -"

A hand covered hers, and she jumped in shock.

It was a man. A very attractive man, in a fine black shirt. Scarred, Aurora thought dreamily. But still _very_ pretty.

"Shhh," he said, lowering the crossbow. He moved towards the barn door and Aurora started.

"Sir!" she said. "There's a cat out there. Largest cat I've ever seen. And a dead man! The cat killed him!"

"I know," he said. He left the safety of the barn anyway.

"I'm dreaming," said Aurora. "Though I must say I'm impressed with my imagination for coming up with someone like him."

She climbed to the loft and looked out from the window to see more of him. He was- was he _petting the thing?_ He was, and now he was walking with it by his side, as if it were a dog, or even a housecat, though she could see it was as big, or bigger than, a wolf.

"Definitely dreaming. Which is a pity, because he truly is gorgeous. Lord, why must You send such men my way, only for them to be unattainable? It's a flaw on Your part."

* * *

Captain Marquet rode hard to Aquila, his humiliated men left in the forest to find the two fugitives. He stopped only to change horses until he reached the castle, where he demanded to see the bishop immediately. His arrival had disturbed the bishop's afternoon entertainment, and he did not appreciate the interruption. The bishop, a tall man with greying brown curls escaping his scullcap, had an unparalleled ability to intimidate.

"So," he said, "you've found her."

"Yes, your grace," said Marquet.

"And so you've come to tell me that she's being executed as we speak?"

"No, your grace."

"So you've found her, but you haven't killed her. So I take it she escaped your grasp yet again."

"Yes, your grace," said Marquet, each answer adding to the slow, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"And yet you come here, into my presence, unshaved and unwashed, with only the news that you haven't killed her yet? Tell me exactly why I should not be grossly offended at your intrusion and your abandonment of your post only to tell me of your failure."

"Maleficent. She's returned!"

The bishop's eyes widened. "Walk with me."

He waited until they were out of the hearing of his entertainers before motioning to Marquet to continue.

"Your Grace, she found us somehow. She left with the girl. My men are combing the woods as we speak to find them."

"So she is back," the bishop murmured to himself. "And what of the raven?"

"The raven?" said Marquet stupidly.

"Yes, the raven," said the bishop. "Maleficent is to be brought back to me alive, but the raven... I have such dreams."

"Dreams, your grace?"

"Horrible dreams. God has spoken to me, Captain Marquet. Maleficent is a witch, an agent of the Devil. It is she who has brought this famine that prevents our people from paying their taxes as they should. But she could be redeemed if she repents. The raven is her familiar, her link to Satan and his works, the source of all her power. Kill it, but bring her back to me. The day she dies is the day you die as well."

"Yes, your grace."

"And get me Cezar, the trapper. He will ride with you back to the forest. There is a task of some delicacy that I need him to execute."

"Yes, your grace."

The bishop extended his ring for Marquet to kiss, and he did so, genuflecting before it.

"Go, then, and take more men with you," said the bishop. "This is a holy ordinance. To fail it is to fail me; to fail me is to fail Him." He looked at the sky above them deliberately.

"I will not fail you again, your grace," said Marquet. "I swear to you."

"You won't have the chance, Marquet," said the bishop. "Fail me again as you have done, and I will have you removed from your station as captain of my guard. Permanently. Am I understood?"

"Perfectly, your grace."

"Wonderful."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It occurs to me that Mouse's real name in the film is Phillipe, so I suppose I could have had Phillip be Mouse and not Aurora, but come on, _wise-cracking Aurora._


	4. The Raven

The next morning, Aurora told Maleficent all that had happened the night before.

"I've never seen such a huge cat. I didn't think they existed!"

Maleficent regarded her cooly. "They don't. At least, they don't live in this country. I believe what you saw was a panther."

"A what?"

"A panther. A large, black cat, yes? Larger even than a wolf?"

Aurora gasped. "You did see it, then!"

"No," said Maleficent. "But I know the signs."

"It killed the charcoal burner. Well, he was going to kill me, so it saved my life, I think. Or maybe it just wasn't hungry. There was another man, too, and it didn't eat him, either."

"A man?" Maleficent's gaze could have cut stone. "What did he look like?"

Aurora tried not to wax on about him, but she couldn't resist. "Handsome, though his face was scarred. Hair like ink. Oh, and his voice! His voice was like music. Like a chorus of birds."

Maleficent smirked. "I should have liked to have seen such a man."

Aurora laughed. "Well, good to know you're as human as the rest of us, but I don't think he was real. I must have imagined him. Who could walk with- what did you say it was called?"

"A panther."

"Right, a panther, and not have it attack him?"

"Someone very brave or very foolish," said Maleficent. She picked up her staff and used it to stand up, and only now did Aurora realize that there was a jewel embedded in the twists of wood at the top.

"What's that for?" she asked, pointing.

"What, this?" said Maleficent. "It was my father's. Before him, my grandfather's. Staff fighting is cleaner than any other discipline. You can't just wave something sharp at your enemies and hope that they'll run in fear. You must strike with purpose and precision."

"And who are your enemies?" asked Aurora.

"His Grace, the Bishop Stefan of Aquila," said Maleficent sardonically. "I've sworn to kill him and take my revenge. That's why I need you."

"Need me?" said Aurora. "For what?"

"You're the only person to have escaped the dungeons and lived. I know you're not lying about that, however much else you lie. I need you to help me enter Aquila undetected."

"But I don't know how to get back in!" said Aurora. "All I did was slide down the drain pipe and then swim towards what sounded promising. No great knowledge, no intricate plan, just pointing myself one way and hoping I didn't drown. It was chance!"

"It was _fate!_ " Maleficent drew herself up to her full height. "I have waited almost two years for a sign from God, something to tell me it was time to strike. And when I heard that you had escaped, I knew." She leaned in close to Aurora. "Our destinies are entwined now, whether _you_ like it or not."

"I can't help you, not for the lives of all three of my aunties. And you can't make me."

* * *

Some hours later, long after nightfall, Aurora's hands were starting to hurt. She'd been sitting for hours and her muscles were protesting. She heard a rustling behind her and she twisted in the tree to look. It was the man again.

"This is a very consistent dream," she remarked loudly to the world at large.

"It's not a dream," he said.

"Oh. Well, if you're real, would you mind untying me? Only my hands are getting pretty stiff and I'd hate to stay in this tree all night. Alone. In the cold. While my hands fall off."

"You're right, that would be terrible," he said, leaning against the tree opposite hers.

"Glad we agree. Now could you please untie me?"

"Depends on why you're tied there." 

"Would you believe that I was set upon by thieving rogues?" Aurora asked hopefully.

"I think you sound more like a thieving rogue yourself," said the man.

She batted her eyelashes at him. "This tree is still awfully uncomfortable, whether I'm a thieving rogue or not."

"Oh, very well," said the man, pulling a knife out of his belt and moving behind her. "Hold still."

"Thanks," she said, rubbing the rope burn on her wrists. "I owe you."

In the distance there was a loud, catlike snarl. The man turned towards the sound, and Aurora chose that moment to make good her escape. "You've been very helpful!" she called over her shoulder.

He put his head in his hands. "She's going to kill me."

* * *

"She's going to kill me," Aurora muttered to herself. First she'd gotten swept up in some harebrained scheme to kill the bishop, and now she was in irons and surrounded by guards because she hadn't been smart enough to check her surroundings before running to open terrain.

"Oh, no, little mouse," said Corporal Legrand, leering at her. "We're going to take you to Captain Marquet, and I'm going to get a promotion, and then he'll kill you. Now tell us where your friend is."

"You know, threatening a person with certain death doesn't make them more inclined to want to help you. It actually makes them more determined to not tell you anything."

"You'll tell us," said Legrand, "or I'll kill you here, slowly, instead of giving you to Marquet for a quick and merciful death."

"Still not convincing," said Aurora.

He slapped her, hard. "Tell us where she is!"

"South, alright?" said Aurora, clutching her cheek pathetically and even working up an impressive single tear. "She went south, towards Aquila."

"We ride north, then, sir," said a guard. "And kill the little rat for lying."

"You smack me around to get the truth out of me and then accuse me of lying," said Aurora. "I'm insulted."

"So am I," said Legrand, "if you think that I'll believe that threadbare attempt at misdirection. We ride south," he called to his men.

"I told the truth, Lord! How can I learn any moral lessons if you keep confusing me like this?"

* * *

 

Maleficent, meanwhile, had spent her morning searching for Aurora. Casting her raven into the air, she sent it out to search, like a hunting bird looking for prey, and called it back to her arm when it had finished.

"Not yet?" she set, petting it from the top of its head to the end of its tail. "Don't worry, we'll find her eventually."

As she rode further towards some peasants making hay, she tossed the bird into the air again. Distracted as she was, she did not notice the mounted guards behind the hay bales. Aurora, gagged and shackled, sat behind Legrand. Considering her options and deciding she preferred Maleficent killing all of them and yelling at her (as opposed to all of them killing Maleficent and hanging her), she rattled her chains and screamed behind her gag, trying to alert her to the ambush. Legrand shoved her off his horse, but it was too late. Maleficent had seen them.

They were riding straight for her, crossbows and swords at the ready. Aurora was on the ground where she had been unhorsed, swearing viciously behind the gag and fiddling with a hairpin and the locks on her shackles.

Maleficent drew her crossbow from her saddle. Load, draw, aim, loose. The first guardsman toppled from his horse like a sack of flour. Another guard returned with his own bolt, aimed poorly, missing both horse and rider and sticking in Maleficent's saddlebag instead. Load again, draw, aim, loose. Another guard down. Two guards behind Maleficent took aim. Without thinking, Aurora threw her now-unlocked shackles at their heads. One ducked, aiming the bow upwards, striking the bird instead of Maleficent, while Legrand, his aim steady, hit Maleficent in her unprotected shoulder. She screamed, though her horror seemed directed, not at the arrow in her shoulder, but at the sight of her raven falling from the sky. "No!" she shrieked. " _No!_ "

Legrand spurred his horse onward, but Maleficent turned to him, her eyes filled with rage. Pulling the arrow out of her shoulder with a scream, she rode to meet him, stabbing him in his unprotected neck with his own bolt before riding on towards the last remaining guardsman. Though unarmed, she rode for him with blood streaming from her shoulder and with murder in her eyes, looking for all the world like a vengeful goddess of war. He took one look at her before retreating as fast as his horse could carry him. Maleficent chose not to follow him, turning Atalanta sharply towards the field where she had seen her raven fall.

Aurora followed on foot, spitting the gag out as she ran. She was actually somewhat pleased with herself: her distraction had been entirely selfless, with no thought for personal gain, and here she'd saved Maleficent's life by diverting a crossbow bolt that surely without her help would have found its way to her heart. Assuming she had one. Had she not seen real, human blood come from Maleficent's wound, she might have thought that she was kept alive solely by the shrieks of frightened men and the tears of innocent children.

But when she caught up to Maleficent, her humor left her. Maleficent had already dismounted and was carefully creeping closer to where it had fallen, looking close to tears. Through pure luck or God's own providence, the arrow had missed the bird's heart by inches and had instead gone clean through, and the bird had fallen with its wings extended, keeping it from breaking any bones in its fall. Even so, it was chirping in distress and pain, the arrow poking sickeningly out of its wing.

"It's alright," she whispered. "Hush, my pet, don't worry, I'm here now." She turned to Aurora. "Get some cloth!"

Aurora, bewildered but not wanting to see the bird die, fetched a handkerchief from Maleficent's saddlebags. Tenderly, Maleficent wrapped the raven in it, careful not to jostle the arrow. "Shh," she crooned, "you'll be alright. Don't be frightened. I'm here, my pet, it's alright now, you're safe."

And Maleficent had clearly, officially, gone insane. Not that talking to animals was a sign of madness, but acting as if they could talk back was too much. And surely all this was a great deal of trouble over a bird! A treasured and loved bird, certainly, but it was still an animal.

Maleficent gathered the raven up in her arms, still murmuring reassurances too quiet for Aurora to hear, and handed it to her. "Take him."

"What?"

"Take him. Get help."

"But mistress, the poor thing is done for. Surely it would be kinder to-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," hissed Maleficent, gripping the front of Aurora's dress in bloody hands. "Don't you _dare_." Catching herself, she released her. "Look, take my horse and follow that road. There's a priest named Balthazar in the ruins of an old castle. He'll know what to do."

"But you're injured," said Aurora. Perhaps Maleficent had forgotten about the wound in her shoulder, but surely she'd see reason if she realized that she was in need of care just as much as her pet. "Surely you should ride and I-"

"I will be fine," said Maleficent. To prove her point, she took out more bandages from her saddlebag and pressed them to her own shoulder. "But I can't ride like this, and you're the only person I have. And I swear, if you try to run off and you let him die, I will find you, no matter where you are, and I will kill you."

She didn't try protesting that she would never have dreamed of trying to escape again, because it wouldn't have been a very good lie. However, given that she firmly believed that Maleficent would try and kill her if she failed, she saw no point in protesting. If the bird died anyway, it was hardly her fault. Aurora mounted Atalanta, the raven in her arms. Maleficent gave the horse a slap on the rump. "Go!"


	5. The Curse

Aurora followed the rode for hours with no sign of the castle. She was getting tired, and hungry, and saddle sore, and on top of that she was riding one-handed, using her other arm to hold the raven to her chest.

"Maleficent had better have pointed me in the right direction," she said, though whether it was to the bird, the horse, or God, she wasn't picky. "If it turns out I was supposed to ride east instead of west, or west instead of east, or whichever way this road is taking me, then it isn't my fault." She squinted. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, but she could see what looked like the remains of a castle at the top of a tall, steep hill. "Or, she could be right, of course, as always," she muttered. Spurring Atalanta forward, she led the horse up the rocky path.

As she neared the top, she could see the ruins more clearly in the setting sun: a crumbling keep with a surrounding wall, a decaying drawbridge, a rickety portcullis, and no one living there as far as she could tell. "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?"

No answer.

"Hello?" she yelled louder, pitching her voice as loudly as she dared. "I need help!"

"Hello!" bellowed a voice from the top of the wall. "Who goes there?"

"I was told to bring you this bird! It's hurt!"

"Hurt?" A head poked out over the top of the wall. "You will have to return it to wherever you found it, then. It's no business of mine."

"I didn't find it, Father!" shouted Aurora. "It doesn't belong to me, it belongs to a woman named Maleficent!"

"Maleficent? Bring him in! Come inside!" The man turned a wheel from his place on top of the wall, and the portcullis was raised. Aurora dismounted one-handed, jostling the poor bird in the process. It squawked weakly.

"Hush," said Aurora, "we're almost there." Patting Atalanta on the nose, she looked her in the eye. "Stay." If Atalanta had any plans to the contrary, she didn't share them with Aurora.

"Come inside, and quickly, girl!" From the drawbridge she could see the priest more clearly. He was a tall, skinny man, his hair a bird's nest, dressed in simple brown robes. Were he to have stood still, he could have been mistaken for a tree. "Walk on the left, here, careful-" He pointed to the relevant side of the drawbridge. She followed him inside, taking two steps for every one of his long-legged ones, until he led her to a room inside the castle. He gestured to the bed, heaped with furs, at the far end of the room. "Put him there."

Aurora did as she was bid, laying the raven down gently on the bed. It thrashed in pain, but she held it still.

"Now go and wait outside," said Balthazar.

"Can't I-"

"No. Go." His tone brooked no argument, but Aurora was curious, and had never been one to argue when she could just as easily cheat. Leaving the room and closing the door behind her, she clambered up a ladder beside the door to a platform that had once been scaffolding for long-since useless repairs. She pressed herself against the stone of the wall behind her and waited.

Sure enough, Balthazar hurried out soon after her. He locked the door behind him hurriedly, glancing frantically at the looming twilight, and walked off towards the mountainside, mumbling to himself about herbs. Aurora waited until he was over the drawbridge before climbing back down. Her hairpins still did a wonderful double duty as lock-picks, and the door opened for her like a thousand doors before it.

She wasn't sure what she expected to see when she opened the door. The bird dead, perhaps, or still weakly struggling for life. She did not expect to see the same beautiful, scarred man that she had seen two nights in a row, naked, in bed, and covered in furs.

Quickly, she averted her gaze. Her eyes were hardly virginal, but that wasn't an excuse to ogle. Even if he _did_ look like he had walked straight out of her dreams and into reality. She turned around to leave, but the man stopped her.

"Maleficent, is she-" Out of the corner of her eye she could see him reaching out to her. "Is she alright?"

Well, that put a damper on her fantasy. "She's fine," said Aurora. "There was a battle, herself against a dozen of the bishop's men, but she won. She was wounded, enough that she couldn't ride, but nothing permanent, nothing deadly. It was the raven..." Aurora felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She had a terrible feeling that she had been very stupid. "It was the raven who was wounded, almost fatally. But you already knew that." She turned towards the man again. There was an arrow in the flesh between his shoulder and his chest.

The same arrow.

"Yes," he said.

Aurora struggled to breathe. It was one thing to hear tales of magic, of the fair folk who spoiled milk and stole children, of Satan working through his agents on earth, but quite another to see the evidence of it right in front of her. "What are you?" she asked him. "Are you human or demon?"

"At the moment, I'm actually rather worried," he said. He made an attempt at laughter, but even that proved too much. He sank back into the furs, biting back a cry of pain. Aurora shrank back in fear, only to bump straight into a looming Balthazar.

"What did I tell you?" he said, shoving her back out the door. "Now get out and stay out!"

This time, Aurora didn't even argue. She left as quickly as she could. "Lord, remember what I said about Maleficent possibly being a murderous witch? Because I wasn't asking for you to actually make it come true, you know!"

* * *

The bishop slept, and his sleep was plagued by dreams.

There was a great field, and its center was marked with a staff. A lone woman stood there, naked, her shoulder crusted with dried blood. It was dark, and she screamed, and her screams turned to feline snarls turned to a man's cries of pain as an arrow was pulled from his chest. The man's blood dripped from the arrow, and the blood poured out across the field and turned to flames licking at the bishop's heels. He ran, though the ground crumbled like ash behind him, and he could feel the heat of flames behind him. A raven harried him, pecking at his shoulders, trying to get to his eyes-

There was a knock at his door, and Stefan woke. "Come in!" A nervous guardsman opened the door, peering inside.

"What is it? What do you want?"

"I'm so sorry, your grace," said the guard, "but Cezar is here to see you. I'll tell him-"

The bishop leaped from his bed, still dressed in his nightgown and nightcap. "I will see him immediately."

"But your grace-"

"I said immediately."

Cezar dressed in furs, the mark of his trade, but his prizes were not wolves or bears or foxes. For the bishop, he brought ravens. Dozens of them, as many as he could carry. He did not trap them for his own sport or for their use: carrion birds were not fit to eat, and their feathers weren't exceptionally prized. But the bishop paid him well for his work, which was enough for him.

The bishop examined each one carefully before shaking his head. "No. None of these are the one I want. You have failed me again, Cezar."

"I can hardly hunt every raven in the kingdom, your grace," said Cezar. "This is delicate work. Birds are-"

The bishop waved a hand at him. "Don't give me excuses. But I did not summon you here just for your birds. I have other tasks for you. First, I must tell you of the woman."

"A woman?" 

"Yes, a woman. So beautiful, with golden eyes and hair like..." The bishop seems to shake himself out of a trance. "I've kept this from you because I thought you might not want to hunt a witch, but not I see it is necessary that you know. You must capture the raven that follows the woman: it is a dark spirit, her familiar. Find the woman, and you will find the raven. Kill it on sight. That is your first task. Your second task is this: I have received reports of a great cat, a panther, stalking this land. It might have killed already. I need you to capture it, but I need it here alive."

"Alive?"

"Think of it as more of a challenge," said the bishop. "I will reward you richly for it."

"What is the name of this woman?" asked Cezar. "The one I'm meant to seek?"

"Her name is Maleficent."

* * *

Aurora busied herself with building a fire and scrounging up food until Balthazar emerged from the little room, his hands freshly washed with traces of blood under the fingernails.

"Is he..."

"The arrow is out," said Balthazar gruffly. "Now we just have to wait for him to heal."

"And who exactly are we waiting _for?_ "

Baltazar poured himself a cup of wine. "It's no concern of yours."

"I just discovered that my traveling companion's pet is a human man, I think I have every right to be concerned." Aurora poured herself her own cup. "The cat... that's Maleficent, isn't it?" He said nothing. " _Isn't_ it?"

"Yes," said Balthazar at last. He scrutinized her face. "You're very sharp. What do they call you?"

"Most call me Mouse," said Aurora. "Though my true name is Aurora. Aurora Fitzroy. Now, tell me: what's the man's name?"

"His name is Diaval Corbeau," said Balthazar, walking with her to the campfire. "And she is Maleficent d'Marais."

" _De_ Marais?"  _Maleficent was of the nobility?_

"Yes. Her parents were very wealthy, and when they died they left all their lands and wealth to her. Terrified that some unlanded man might try to force her into marriage to gain her fortune, she rode to Aquila, where she knew her friend lived."

"Her friend?"

"Stefan, the Bishop of Aquila. He was her parents' ward when they were children, though he was but an orphaned peasant, and it was through them that he was able to enter the monastery and rise to bishop. She thought he would protect her. But he'd changed since she'd known him, and he was just as lustful and covetous as the men she was trying to escape."

 _And isn't that just like a man?_ thought Aurora.

"When she realized what sort of man he had become, she made excuses to not see him, reminded him of his vows to God, but still he pursued her. He was mad with lust for her, sent her tokens of his supposed love, but what he did not know, and what she did not tell him, was that she was in love with another, her servant of many years."

"Diaval?"

Balthazar nodded. "He was loyal to her when Stefan was not, and their love flourished in secret. Finally, they hatched a plan. They married in secret, though he was far below her station, and planned to return to Maleficent's estates." He drained his cup dry of wine, and Aurora rushed to fill it.

"Then what happened?"

"They were betrayed," said Balthazar heavily. "By the same priest that had married them, who was also their confessor. Foolishly, he revealed their secret, though it was a mortal sin to do so. When the bishop discovered their love, he flew into a rage. Maleficent and Diaval escaped, but the bishop pursued them like a man possessed. They could not even stop to rest, he was so relentless in his anger. At last, on a moonless night, he made a pact with Satan himself."

Aurora gasped.

Baltazar drained his cup again. "From the depths of Hell, a curse was cast on the lovers, one so evil that only the font of all evil could have conceived of it. By day, Diaval is the raven who flies at Maleficent's side as faithfully as he did as her servant. By night, Maleficent is a panther, mindless in her rage and passion. They know nothing of their human selves, can never see the sun or moon with human eyes, nor can they ever touch as their own selves."

"Always together," said Aurora, realizing the true depth of the cruelty of the curse, "eternally apart."

Balthazar nodded. "As long as the sun rises in the day and the moon lights the skies at night, so they will always be as they are. Until tonight, no one else knew of their secret but for me. And now you are just as bound in this as I. You can't escape your part in this, Aurora Fitzroy." With that, he threw another log on the fire, and walked away.

"I wasn't planning on it anyway," muttered Aurora. No one replied, but she felt as if someone was disappointed in her.

* * *

Aurora sat by the fire for a while before deciding that she could be useful. Or, if not useful, at least she could satisfy some more of her curiosity. Balthazar was elsewhere in the castle - where exactly she didn't know - and so she stole into the little room where Diaval was.

He was sleeping, his bare chest rising and falling with breaths that strained against the bandages wrapped around him. _He's handsome_ , thought Aurora, not for the first time, but it felt worse to think of him that way than it had before. It was one thing to think he was a figment of her imagination, but it was quite another knowing that his love for Maleficent transcended even his own humanity. Not to mention that Maleficent was in love with him, and who knew what she would do to someone who so much as looked at him cross-eyed?

He stirred, then started to rise, blinking slowly with the last vestiges of sleep.

"Don't get up!" said Aurora. "You might hurt yourself more."

"Don't think that's possible," said Diaval, frowning at the ceiling. "Hurts enough already." He turned towards her as much as the wound would allow. "What's your name?"

"Aurora. Aurora Fitzroy. Though you can call me 'Mouse,' if you like. It's my thief's name." She smiled. "Fits with a bird and a cat, don't you think?"

Diaval laughed weakly. "It does at that." His eyes searched her face for something. "You travel with her, don't you?"

"I do."

"Good. She needs someone around with a sense of humor." A shadow passed over his face, melting away his smile. "Especially since I'm not there to do it." He turned away from her to look at the ceiling. Unbearable pain was etched across his face; not all of it, Aurora suspected, because of his wound.

"She was worried about you, you know," she said. "She ripped a crossbow bolt from her own shoulder and stabbed the man who hurt you in the neck like an avenging angel, blood streaming and eyes blazing." Aurora licked her lips, then chose to embroider things just a tad more. "'Don't let him die,' she said. 'If he dies, I have no reason to live, for he is the only reason I have. He is everything precious to me.' And then she said, 'One day, we will know such happiness, as two people dream of, but never do.'"

"She said all that?" said Diaval, raising his eyebrows, an incredulous smile spreading across his face.

"Something like that," said Aurora, smiling back. "I can't be expected to remember everything."

 _Balthazar said I was bound to this_ , she thought. _As much as he was._ For the second time that day, she had the awful feeling that she had ignored something obvious and was the stupider for it. She was rising even as she realized it. "I should let you rest," she said awkwardly, hurrying away.

Balthazar was outside, gathering more herbs in the field between the portcullis and the drawbridge. "Do they know?" she demanded of him. "Do they know that you are the one who betrayed them? That it was you who broke the confessional seal?"

"God has seen fit to absolve me of my sin," said the priest. Aurora opened her mouth to point out that that wasn't an answer, but Balthazar continued. "After years of searching, finally He has brought Diaval and Maleficent to me, and with it, the answer to my prayers."

"If you could endeavor to be less like the Holy Scriptures, father, so I am not forced to interpret your text-"

"I've found a way to break the curse! All Maleficent must do is confront the bishop at the right time, and then the curse will be ended."

"But she already plans to confront the bishop," said Aurora. "And bash him over the head with that big staff of hers."

"No, she mustn't do that!" said Balthazar. "If she kills the bishop, then the means to end the curse will die with him!" Hoofbeats on the mountain. "Soldiers. Go see to Diaval, keep him safe."

Aurora ran for the drawbridge, muttering "left side" to herself as she did so.

Balthazar looked out over the walls.

"Open in the name of his Holiness, the Bishop of Aquila!" shouted one.

"I will not!" Balthazar shouted back. "Not until you come back wearing a mitre instead of a helmet! I will admit only men of God!"

"We're the bishop's own guard!"

"And my doors are as closed to him as they are to you!"

At a gesture from their leader, two guards moved to break the portcullis, the old and rotting wood snapping easily under their hands.

Unfortunately, the bridge immediately following the portcullis also snapped under the weight of their armor.

As did the drawbridge when another guard walked on the right hand side.

"I'm a priest, not a carpenter!" said Balthazar, but his humor could not deflect a sword hilt to the back of the skull.

In the castle, Aurora was having her own problems.

"You've got to _move_ ," she said to Diaval, trying to support his weight as best she could.

"I'm moving as quickly as I can," he snapped back.

"Not fast enough!"

"How about this: _you_ lose a good bit of blood, and _I_ make comments about how slow _you're_ being?"

Footsteps on the stairs behind them. "Hurry," said Aurora, leading Diaval upwards. Where they led to, she didn't know or care, so long as it led them away from the guards.

The stairs opened to a freestanding tower. "Damn it," said Aurora. "Look, just-" The footsteps were getting closer. "Look for a way down, alright?"

"There _is_ no-"

A helmeted head emerged from the trapdoor. Aurora flailed, kicking the man in the face and breaking his nose. He went down, sinking to his knees long enough that Aurora could cover the door again and sit on it, locking the latch as she did so.

"I should just let them take me," said Diaval. "I'm who they're after, there's no point in running."

"Shut up," said Aurora. "And you're not so special, they're after both-"

A sword poked upwards through a slat in the door. Aurora screamed and started backward, knocking Diaval forward and pitching him off the tower with a yell.

"Diaval!" He was falling, he was doing to die, this was all her fault-

Sunlight.

As the first few rays of dawn filtered over the trees, Diaval's screams became a raven's call. Before her eyes, his arms turned into wings, his nose elongated to a beak, and black feathers sprouted from his skin.

He flew.

Aurora only had the barest of moments to admire him in flight before a thump on the trapdoor reminded her of a slightly more pressing issue. Taking her shoes off, and cursing her skirts yet again for their weight and clumsiness, she swung herself over the side of the tower and clung to a friendly and sturdy-looking gargoyle. Moments later, a guard poked his head out over the wall and pointed his sword at her.

"Where's the man?"

"He flew away!" said Aurora.

"Don't lie to me," said the guard, poking his sword downwards at her. "Where is he?"

"I swear, he flew away!"

"I'm going to-" The guard's words were cut off, and a moment later his body dropped past Aurora, a crossbow bolt in his chest.

Maleficent stood on a rocky cliff several hundred yards away, crossbow in her hands, her hair a banner in the morning breeze and her eyes radiating fury even from a distance. Aurora had never been more happy to see someone in her entire life.

She turned her eyes skyward, still clutching the gargoyle. "It pays to tell the truth, Lord. I see that now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nerd things:
> 
>   * I kept a lot of lines from the movie because they are hilarious.
>   * I wrote Maleficent's situation to be similar to that of Eleanor of Aquitaine. At the time, heiresses without a formal protector could be forced into marriage with men who wanted control over their wealth. Eleanor of Aquitaine had to ride nonstop to get to King Louis VII of France in order to marry him, and when their marriage was annulled, she had to ride equally quickly back to Poitiers and rush-ship a marriage to Henry II of England.
>   * Fun fact: Isabeau from the original movie is the Countess of Anjou. Geoffrey of Anjou (also known as Geoffrey Plantagenet) was Eleanor of Aquitaine's father-in-law, and Henry II was also Count of Anjou. HISTORY.
> 



	6. The Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who sucks at updating? I do. I blame reviews for the sudden influx in words. :D

Maleficent took her time meeting Balthazar at the gates of the ruins. She collected Atalanta from her place grazing in the mountain fields, and Diaval finally landed to perch on her shoulder and rub his head in the crook of her neck. Aurora watched from behind the broken stones, biding her time. Now that she knew the truth, she wondered how she had never seen it before, the love that transcended even their own humanity. She hid in the ruins instead of running out immediately when Maleficent finally deigned to speak to Balthazar. She did not want to interrupt something this important.

"I thought you might have been dead," Maleficent told the old priest. "I'm not sure if I would have mourned you if you were. But-" She stroked Diaval's back, preening his inky feathers herself. "You saved him. And for that, I cannot thank you enough."

"No," said Balthazar. "It is I who should be thanking _you_ , for the chance to redeem myself for the sins I have committed against you and Diaval, and save you from this terrible curse."

Maleficent regarded him with suspicion. "You betrayed us once, old man. Beware that my gratitude will not save you from a swift death if you do so again."

"Three days hence," said Balthazar, "the Bishop will hear the confessions of all our kingdom's clergy, and thereby absolve them of any sins they might have committed in the past year. On that day, you and Diaval must confront him, together, as man and woman!"

"Impossible," said Maleficent. "The curse-"

"-will only last so long as there is day and night," said Balthazar. "But in three days, there will be a day without a night, and a night without a day. The curse cannot hold then!"

"The ravings of a drunk man," said Maleficent.

"I have never been more sober," said Balthazar, clutching her arm. "God has purged me of that and shown me the truth, a way to absolve myself of my sins!"

"I was wrong," said Maleficent coldly. "Your ravings are that of a madman."

Balthazar let go of her arm, his face crumpling. He turned back towards the ruins, seeming older and weaker now that the fire of his conviction had gone out of him. Maleficent turned Atalanta and started back down the mountain at a walk. Aurora chose then to leap out from her hiding place, scrambling down the hill and across the broken drawbridge to meet them.

"Don't worry, Father," she said, patting Balthazar's arm, before running further still. "Maleficent!" she called out, racing to catch up with her. "Maleficent!"

Maleficent halted Atalanta. "Yes?"

Aurora could not for the life of her find the words to ask what she wanted to ask. "How's your shoulder?" she asked instead.

Maleficent raised an eyebrow. "Better, thank you." Grudgingly, she added, "I am in your debt, Aurora Fitzroy. You did not abandon Diaval, though you easily could have stolen him and Atalanta."

Aurora shuffled awkwardly on her feet. " _Too_ easily, mistress," she said. "Not nearly enough fun in that. And I'd be a poor thief if I took only the easiest pickings." She nodded at Diaval. "And besides, I got to meet him properly. He gave me a message for you."

"Did he?"

Aurora nodded. "He wants you to know that he still has faith in you."

Maleficent turned her head, and had Aurora not known better, she might have thought the other woman was holding back tears. "I will not force you to work for me if you do not wish it."

"Yes, mistress."

"You're free to do as you like."

"Oh, I know that, mistress." Aurora chose her next words carefully. "Then you and your manbird will ride on to Aquila?"

Maleficent almost smiled. "'Manbird'?"

Aurora only smiled and said nothing.

"Yes," said Maleficent eventually.

"Well," said Aurora, "it just so happens I'm headed in that general direction myself."

"Oh, really?" said Maleficent.

"Pure coincidence, you understand."

"Oh, I understand." Maleficent _did_ smile, then, and Aurora could see the woman she might have been years ago, the one Diaval had fallen in love with. "Well, you'd better get your things, then, shouldn't you?"

"Yes, mistress," said Aurora. She turned and ran back up the hill, stumbling over stones in her haste to climb it.

On the hill, Aurora touched Balthazar's shoulder. "I'm to go with Maleficent," she said. "Follow us? Perhaps she'll have more faith in you when she's had more time."

Maleficent petted Diaval's head. "Did you hear that, my pet? _Manbird_." She tried to stifle the laughter that bubbled up in her breast and failed. For two years, she'd only been able to manage the harsh, bitter laugh of someone with no joy in the world, but now she couldn't seem to stop herself. "Manbird!"

* * *

Aurora was determined to never run again if she could help it. Sure, this would be a detriment to her career as a thief, which involved a lot of running from guardsmen and angry marks and watchdogs and the like, but she'd take it over this. Maleficent had not allowed her to ride with her, claiming that Atalanta would soon tire of carrying so great a burden. Aurora was starting to realize that Maleficent had a very particular sense of humor.

"But if Balthazar has found the way to break the curse," she said between gulps of air, "then isn't it at least worth a try?"

Maleficent wheeled her horse around. "Don't mention it again. And don't mention it to Diaval, either. There's no need to give him false hope." She took off again, leaving Aurora behind.

"Tender subject," Aurora muttered to herself.

Eventually Maleficent did stop to allow Aurora to ride. "It'll be night soon," she said.

"I understand."

"Here, take my- my _manbird_ ," said Maleficent, laughter threatening to make its appearance again. "And if you're my messenger as well as my traveling companion-" she said, and then paused. "Just... tell him I love him. And I miss him dearly."

"Of course," said Aurora, kneeing Atalanta to a trot. "I'll return tomorrow morning."

She did not notice the rider who passed her on the road, going into the woods as she was coming out, nor his eyes on her, glancing only briefly at the raven perched on her shoulder.

* * *

Aurora rode until she reached a small town. The sky threatened rain, making it difficult to tell where the sun was. She gave gold to the local innkeeper in exchange for use of his barn, and relieved his laundry of several pairs of breeches and shirts in exchange for him charging her an outrageous amount for it. She returned to the barn soaked through with rain, ringing her hair out in front of Diaval.

"Some for you, some for me," she said, putting a heap of clothes in front of the raven. "Not that I'd mind if you went without clothes, but I think you would object to it even if I didn't, and Maleficent certainly would." She stared at the bird, who stared back at her, head cocked to the side. "I hope you didn't understand that." She peered out the barn door at the pouring rain. "I've no idea of when you'll change back, though I'd rather not watch, especially since you're a married man. And I'm not going out in that downpour if I can help it. Why don't I just change into proper clothes instead of these awful skirts, take a short nap there," she said, pointing to a pile of hay, "and you be a man by the time I wake up? Acceptable?"

The raven cawed.

"Alright," said Aurora. "We're agreed."

She went around so that her view of him was blocked by the hay bale, then settled in the warm, soft straw to sleep. When she awoke, it was to a distinct rustling noise in the straw behind her.

"Mmm, what time is it?" she mumbled.

"After sunset," came the reply, in Diaval's lilting tones.

Aurora got up and dusted straw off her breeches and hair. "Excellent."

He gestured to the clothes he was wearing: a new black shirt and breeches, and a long black coat to keep off the rain. "Your handiwork?"

"Who, me?" she said, eyes wide with feigned innocence. "The innkeeper gave me those clothes out of the goodness of his heart."

"I'll have to stay out of the innkeeper's view, then," said Diaval.

"Will it make you feel better if I tell you why he deserved it?"

"I'll take your word for it." He didn't seem to be really focusing on her, but instead he looked at the door of the barn with worry creasing the space between his brows. "Is she alright?"

"Maleficent? Of course she is." He didn't seem convinced. "She's alive, she's healing, she's worried about you-"

"She's riding back towards Aquila?"

"That, too."

He shook his head. "Glad to see she's still herself."

"You mean she's always been like this?" asked Aurora.

He laughed half-heartedly. "Oh, yes. She didn't fly into rages, she wasn't that sort of person. But if you wronged her, she'd make you regret it eventually." His eyes lit up, remembering. "One time, a man came to court her - this was before her parents died, when she was still at the chateau - and he said something to her about her being too mannish to marry."

"Really?" said Aurora. True, Maleficent was good in a fight and rode a horse well, but she was hardly mannish.

"Oh, yes. Said her education had been neglected and she knew nothing of the feminine arts." Diaval paused for a moment to snicker. "She made sure his next meal had broom plants in among the greens and he spent the rest of the week in the privy!" They both roared with laughter.

"Did he know it was her?"

"Oh, yes! And when he complained to her father, he told him that knowledge of herbs was a feminine art, so he could hardly accuse her of it a second time." Diaval's laughter faded to a sigh.

"Stop that," said Aurora. "You were actually enjoying yourself, there. D'you think Maleficent would want you to mope around?" Diaval started to open his mouth. Aurora was faster. "Hush! We're going to have a nice time, with a warm fire and laughter and stories, and you're going to _like_ it!"

"Yes, madam," said Diaval sarcastically.

"Come on, then. Let's go to the inn and get some proper food."

"Won't the innkeeper see us?"

"That's the fun part." Tugging on his hand, she pulled him to the door and forced him out into the rain-

-straight into a horse and rider in front of the barn. The horse itself was covered in pelts and traps, but worst of all it was adorned with ten or more ravens. Diaval stopped, his mouth open in something like terror. As if he had seen his own death.

"Can you tell me the way to Aquila?" asked the man on the horse. He looked at them both curiously.

"We're travelers," said Aurora. "We don't know these parts well."

"I see," said the man. "Then you've not heard of the panther."

"The what?" Aurora's blood pounded in her ears.

"A fearsome cat that savages men and stalks these woods at night," said the man. "I'm meant to catch it and end its reign of terror."

"O-oh," Aurora stammered. "That's- that's good for us, then. I suppose."

"It certainly is. Travelers like you should be able to move freely." His gaze over her body showed perfectly well how exactly he wanted her to move.

"Stay safe, little girl," said the man. He kneed his horse and rode off into the darkness.

Aurora shivered, and not only from the rain. She turned to Diaval- but he was no longer there. With increasing dread, Aurora started back towards the barn. "Diaval?" Atalanta shot out of the stable, Diaval on her back. "Diaval! Come back! It's not safe!"

Diaval vanished into the rain.

* * *

Rain dripped from Diaval's nose and into his eyes. It was so dark he could barely see. The moon was waning, and what little was left was obscured by clouds. The only light came briefly, from the flashes of lightning that split the sky. He'd ridden Atalanta hard, then left her hitched when he could no longer steer her through the trees and underbrush. Now he felt, more than saw, his way through the dense forest. He tried to listen for the hunter, but the sound of the rain muffled the sound of distant footfalls or hoofbeats. In the darkness, he could not see the steel traps scattered across the forest floor, waiting for an errant foot or passing creature to become ensnared.

And then he heard it: the clang of a trap closing, followed by the sharp cry of an animal in pain. "No!"

Blindly, he ran towards the sound, stumbling over roots and slipping on wet leaves. Only a flash of lightning kept him from running straight into Cezar, who was bent over the animal with a wicked looking knife in his hand.

"And who's this?" the trapper asked, more to himself than to Diaval. He stood up, knife in hand. In doing so, he revealed the trapped animal: it was a wolf, not a panther. Thunder clapped.

"I'm-" Diaval was interrupted by a yowl. Even in the darkness, he knew that sound. He'd know it against a dozen others. No other creature sounded just like she did.

"Maleficent!"

"Maleficent?" the hunter said. His eyes widened. "My two targets are the same." As if in a daze, he stood from where he knelt, and took a step towards her, knife in hand. Lightning flashed again.

"No!" cried Diaval. "I won't let you!"

He leaped onto the man's back, knocking the knife from his hand and pulling him backward. With a roar, Cezar scrabbled at Diaval's encircling arms, breaking his hold and dragging him within range of his fists. Diaval ducked the first punch, but the second caught him in the cheekbone, knocking his head back. He sat down hard on the forest floor, almost knocking his head against the tree behind him. Without thinking, he reached out with his long legs, hooked one around Cezar's ankle, and pulled.

Cezar fell backwards and let out a horrifying, gurgling scream. He had fallen headfirst into one of his own traps, and its jaws had closed, with sharp metal teeth, around his neck. He yanked at the steel contraption to no avail, blood seeping around his fingers and soaking into the soil around him. Eventually, he stopped struggling, and lay silent.

Diaval scrambled away from the body, breathing hard. "Oh, God," he said in horror. "I just-"

Softly, the panther padded over to him, and lay her head in his lap. Diaval's fingers tangled in her rain-soaked fur. When Aurora found him, hair plastered to her face and Maleficent's staff in her hand, he was muttering thankful prayers into Maleficent's coat.


End file.
